


It's Different Now

by timeblitz



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Hunk (Voltron), Altean Pidge | Katie Holt, Altean lance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Betrayal, Galra Keith (Voltron), Implied Relationships, M/M, War, implied shallura, klance, protective pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7834966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeblitz/pseuds/timeblitz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance and Keith are set up to be married to unite the Galra and Altean Empires after the war ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Lance followed after his older sister Allura, a bit confused but not wanting to ask any questions. Not yet at least. All he knew was that they were meeting someone in one of the castle’s many company intended rooms. The princess pushed open the large ornate doors, allowing Lance to pass before following. The doors shut behind them with a loud clank that nearly caused Lance to jump out of his skin. They should probably fix that, it seemed way too loud for his liking. 

A glance around the room only ended up causing him more confusion. Two other people were here, presumably his visitors. One was a muscular human with a scar across the bridge of his nose. His right arm had been replaced with a high tech prosthetic. The other was a Galran boy about his age dressed in red. 

Maybe they were diplomats of some sort? It would make sense. The Alteans and Galras had recently ended a large scale war that had gone on for far too long. After both sides had time to lick their wounds, they began sending parties to come up with compromises and formalities. Lance shot a questioning look to Allura. She brushed it off in favor of greeting the others. 

“Welcome to the Castle of Lions. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” She said kindly, first shaking the Galra’s hand then the human’s. “Once we’re done here I’ll show you to your rooms so you may rest up before dinner.”

“Thank you.” The Galra responded before looking over to Lance. He scanned the other up and down for a moment before stepping forward, holding out his hand. Lance paused for a moment before shaking back. “It’s nice to finally see you in person Prince Lance.” He murmured quietly. “After dinner we should probably take the time to get to know one another, huh?”

Lance was feeling more and more lost by the minute. He gave a small nod, once again glancing at Allura for help. She shot him a dirty look but it was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. 

The human seemed to have some sort of understanding and eyed Lance curiously before deciding to act as his saving grace. “Princess, it was very kind of you to personally meet us, but it has been quite the trip here. Perhaps Prince Keith and myself should rest a bit? You don’t need to worry about showing us the way, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” He spoke kindly, a friendly look on his face. 

Allura simply nodded, taking the easy way out that had been offered to her. “Yes, of course. I know how tiring it can be to travel such a distance with no breaks. If you head down the hall and take a right, you should see your quarters. A servant is stationed outside your doors if you should need anything. We shall see you both at dinner then.” She returned the human’s small smile as he nodded and turned to leave. The Keith guy followed after him with one last curious look at Lance. 

Almost as soon as the doors had shut, Allura turned to Lance, fury in her eyes. “Are you even aware of who that was? You barely said a word, even when the prince spoke directly to you. Lance, I know this is daunting but please, you need to make a good impression!”

“Wait, wait. Hold up. What are you talking about? No. No, I don’t know who that was. Why did I even need to be here?” Now Lance asked, his nose scrunched up as he cocked his head slightly to the side. He already didn’t like where this was going. 

Fire flashed in Allura’s eyes. “Lance! That was the Galra prince. The one who you will be marrying!”

“Huh?” Lance stared at his sister, eyes wide and mouth dropped. “What do you mean marrying? Why the hell am I marrying him? More importantly, why did you never mention this to me?”

“I did! A month ago! Lance, this is very important for our people. You said you understood that!” 

“I wasn’t listening! You should know by now I hardly ever listen to your political hoity toity.” Lance ran a hand through his hair, an exasperated look on his face. “I hardly even know the guy.” He mumbled, looking very overwhelmed. 

Allura’s harsh expression softened and she rested her hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Well, you have a whole week to get to know him. He seemed nice! Plus I’ll be right here too.” She spoke in an encouraging tone. “I know this is very confusing and sudden for you, but we really need it to happen. Your marriage will unite the Alteans and the Galras once and for all. I need you to do your best, please.” 

Lance gave a small nod, taking a deep breath. “Alright. Okay, I’ve got this. It’s in the bag. I’ll woo that Galra off his fucking feet. He won’t even know what hit him.” He was nervously toying with the edge of his shirt.

“I’m not sure if all that’s necessary. Just, try to get along with him for now. The less complicated the better.” Allura dropped her hand, standing back up straight. “I’m going to give you some time to think about this. Go freshen up and make sure to arrive to dinner on time. I’ll be preparing with Coran if you need me.” She then left the room, leaving Lance alone and conflicted. 

Lance took a deep breath, composing himself before heading to his own room. This was going to be a very bumpy road. But hey, Allura was right. It was for the good of the kingdoms, not to mention, Keith did seem like a pretty nice guy so far.


	2. Chapter 2

He was wrong. So very wrong. Keith was a total asshole. If he thought he was sneaky when he had been stealing glances at Lance, he was wrong. Lance was pretty sure he caught the other almost every time. Just ignore the fact that in order to see someone looking at you, you have to be looking at them too. 

Keith knew he was being caught too. One time he offered a small smile, the next a discrete wave. And then he stuck his tongue out at Lance. That caught him off guard enough for him to spill his drink, just barely stifling the loud curse that had raised in his throat. After a moment of shocked silence, Keith had the audacity to laugh at him. It wasn’t even just a small chuckle, the guy had clamped a hand over his mouth, his loud snickering escaping from in between his fingers. 

Soon enough, Allura and Shiro (whose name Lance had learned earlier) had joined in as well, while Lance sat there dumbfounded. Wasn’t this supposed to be a formal welcoming dinner? Because this definitely wasn't formal. Not anymore at least. Lance could have slammed his head against the table if it weren’t all wet from his drink. 

Aside from that, Lance had to hand it to the guy. Keith knew all the cues and handled the more royal procedures much better than Lance ever had. He completed everything with an air that said he had done it thousands of times before and it was hard not to admire that. 

Lance was now on his way to the training deck. Once Allura had mentioned it to him, the Galran prince had set himself on checking it out. After the wedding took place he would be living here anyways so there was no real harm. As Keith had suggested before, now would be a good time for them to try to learn a bit about each other. Lance supposed he could ignore the dinner fiasco for now. He’d find a way to get back at Keith eventually. 

He didn’t bother knocking at the closed doors. Lance simply slid into the room, barely making a noise. Keith was already here, slashing away at enemies with a steady pace. He had one of the standard steel swords the guards were equipped with and he had ditch the fancier clothes for a plain black shirt and slim pants. Looks like he had a jacket too, but that had been long since discarded and tossed to the side. 

Lance leaned against the wall, watching the other work up a sweat. He couldn’t help but notice the agile way he moved, slipping around the field with fluid movements. Keith fought with an elegance even some of the best Altean knights would have trouble matching. It was almost mesmerising to watch. After a few minutes more, Keith landed the finishing blow, knocking out the sparring bot with a flourish. He called out for the program to end before looking over at Lance with a grin. “Not bad, huh?”

Lance gave a shrug. “I’ve seen better. But no, it wasn’t too shabby.” Keith leaned his sword against the wall, picking his coat back up and slinking over to the Altean. “If you’re done here, I could show you around the castle a bit.” Lance offered, doing pretty well to disguise the edgy tone in his voice. This would be his first time completely alone in the company of his future husband. It was a bit nerve wracking to think about.

“Sounds good to me.” Keith replied, wiping off the sweat on his face. He kept his jacket slung over his back, probably waiting to cool down a bit before putting it back on. “This place seems pretty huge. I’ve only seen a handful of the rooms.” Lance gave a nod, leading back out the door and down the hall with Keith close behind.

He’d stop every now and then to point something out or make a note. For the most part it stayed quiet, a not so comfortable silence. Even the seemingly smooth Galra was tiptoeing around actual conversation. Who could blame him? Him and Lance were going to have to put up with each other for the rest of their lives. Neither wanted to be the one to say the wrong thing or fall victim to even worse words.

With a huff, Lance turned to face Keith. “Alright, this isn’t really getting us anywhere.” Keith gave a confused look before Lance continued in a decided tone. “Since neither of us are giving much up, we’re playing a question game.” 

Keith snorted, his confusion turning into amusement. “A question game? Really?” 

Lance rolled his eyes. “Well unless you’re willing to sit down and tell me your entire life story, from the moment you were born up until now, it’s what we’re doing.” Lance began walking again, leaving Keith to try to quickly catch up.”First question, did you agree to marrying me or were you forced?”

“Well, I agreed to it but there wasn’t really a choice in the matter. I would’ve ended up here either way.” Keith had easily caught up and the pair was now walking side by side. “What about you? Even I could tell you were pretty confused earlier. What was up with that?”

Lance paused, debating how he should answer this one. “I, ah, hmm.” A slightly embarrassed look crossed his face. “I hadn’t realized you were the guy I was supposed to marry.” He tried, offering a cheeky grin.

“Wow, you were definitely prepared.” Keith said this in a flat voice but his eyes had a glint of amusement. 

“Oh shove off, I know now!” Lance protested. The fact that Keith was joking seemed to slip past him. “I’m sure you’ve probably done something like that too.”

“Well, I’ve only ever had one fiancé. And from what I remember, when I met him I recognized him pretty quickly and shook his hand.” Keith teased, a sly smirk prying up the corners of his mouth. 

“That not what I meant and you know it.” Lance huffed, rolling his eyes. “But now we’re getting off track. Next question. Why did you bring a human with you instead of another Galra? I know he’s like your advisor or whatever, but wouldn’t it make sense for Zarkon to put one of his own men in charge of you?” 

Keith gave a shrug. “Those guys had trouble dealing with me. When I was smaller I’d get in a lot of trouble all the time. Shiro was one of the few people I’d listen to. Usually. He’s like an older brother to me.” He had a fond look on his face, obviously remembering his shenanigans as a kid. 

“He was an arena fighter before he came to me. Shiro was almost unbeatable, one of the best. But that didn’t really help him when he got sick. It was unfair really but the other guy beat him pretty badly. If Shiro wasn’t Dad’s little champion he probably would have been left to die. That’s when I found him. I was probably seven, maybe eight? I was exploring and ended up at the infirmary. Shiro was more than happy to have someone to talk with while he was recovering.” Keith gave a shrug. “He’s pretty much been with me since.”

“Huh, cool. Not the fact that he was hurt, or forced to fight I guess, but the rest of it.” Lance titled his head. He still had questions about the human, and really didn’t agree with the Galra’s choice of entertainment, but would save it for later. Right now he should be focusing more on Keith. He looked up at the other. “I got into a lot of trouble too. Still do if I’m gonna be honest.”

“I’d believe it.” Ignoring the dirty look Lance gave him, Keith carried on. “So what’s with the blue marks under your eyes?”

“What’s with your space furry ears?” Lance shot back.

“Touché.” 

The two carried on like that for some time, answering many questions ranging from ‘What’s your favorite colour?’ to ‘What were you doing exactly two days ago at this time?’. Eventually they looped back around towards Keith’s room where the two said their goodbyes and separated for the night. 

So maybe Keith wasn’t as big of an asshole as Lance had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh, thank you all so much for the positive feedback on the first chapter, it really means a lot!!


	3. Chapter 3

When Lance woke up the next morning, he simply laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure for how long, he wasn’t really keeping track, but it was definitely for awhile. Despite getting just as much sleep as usual, he still felt a bit tired but couldn’t seem to just fall back asleep again. He grumbled to himself before finally dragging himself out of bed and over to the bathroom.

He soon realized, oh yeah, Keith and Shiro were here too. He was supposed to be meeting today with their wedding planner, and Lance’s long time friend, Hunk. While Allura and some of the Galras she had been in contact with had done most of the work, Keith and himself were still given some space to deal with. With Hunk’s help, it shouldn’t be too hard. Especially once it came time to decide the meals. 

With a groan, Lance pulled himself together, slapping his cheeks to wake up. He went through his morning routine as usual and got dressed, preparing for the day. Once he had deemed himself fit, he headed out, deciding to skip breakfast today.

He eventually ended up in the common room, plopping down on the couch and checking the time. He had about an hour to waste before meeting up with Hunk. If he was lucky, Pidge might have decided to tag along with his bulky friend. 

Lance heard the door open and looked up to see Shiro and Allura come in. They were engaged in conversation and didn’t take notice of Lance right away. He pressed himself against the sunken-in-couch, unable to resist the urge to listen in. After a few moments, he came to the conclusion that this wasn’t about the upcoming wedding, or even the more political side of things. It was just plain simple conversation. Small talk. 

Lance tilted his head to the side, picking up bits and pieces. Looks like the current subject was the castle itself. “Even with all these people around, sometimes it just starts to feel lonely, you know?” Shiro gave a sympathetic nod. Allura sighed, shaking her head before turning to face Shiro. “But enough about that. I’m sure you have plenty to say.”

“Are they really that interesting?” Came a voice from above. Lance jumped, quickly looking upwards at the source. Keith was standing over the edge of the couch, his forward foot half on the floor and half on the couch back. “Either way, you probably shouldn’t be listening to them. Eavesdropping isn’t exactly polite.”

“Neither is sneaking up on people!” Lance complained, a somewhat incredulous look on his face. 

“I wasn’t sneaking. You’re just very oblivious.” Keith huffed, blowing a lock of hair out of his face. 

Lance reached up and shoved at Keith’s leg, giving a very indignant “Am not!” Keith, surprisingly, was caught off guard and gave a small yelp as he pitched forward, slipping and falling on top of Lance. Lance bit back the small squeak that threatened to escape him. Instead he gave a somewhat shaky “Looks like you just fell for me, huh?” 

Keith gawked at the other for a moment then narrowed his eyes. “Wipe that smirk off your face, that was a dick move. Not fair.”

“All’s fair in love and war.” Lance chimed, wiggling his eyebrows at the other. He paused for a moment. “Now get your fat ass off of me. You’re squishing me to death.”

“Everyone’s a fat ass compared to you. You’re so scrawny a gust of wind could probably knock you off your feet!” Keith argued, scooting off of Lance and onto the cushion next to him. “It’s not my fault you can’t handle more than five pounds of weight.” 

“You’re not some big stud either! I bet you’d have trouble picking me up, despite my apparent lack of weight.” Lance barked, his eyes squinted at the other.

“I’ve wielded swords that weighed more than you. I’m almost certain anyone in this castle could pick you up no problem. It’s-”

“Shouldn’t you two be getting over to Hunk about now?” Shiro asked with an amused face. Him and Allura had apparently been watching the exchange from across the room. Allura had cupped a hand to her mouth, trying to hide her giggles. Faces flushed with embarrassment, the two scrambled to their feet. Shiro clapped a hand to Keith’s shoulder. “I think you’re supposed to be getting along with Lance, not provoking him.”

“He’s the one who literally pulled me down on top of him, he started it!” Keith objected, ignoring the look Lance shot him. 

“Now, I don’t want to hear who’s fault it was. I want to hear an apology. From the both of you!” Allura chimed in, Shiro nodding in agreement.

“Great, now the big kids have ganged up on us.” Lance said with a huff, rolling his eyes. A moment later his usual grin broke out and he looked to Keith. “I’m sorry you’re such a pansy.”

“And I’m sorry your scrawny ass can’t take the heat but is stuck in the kitchen anyways.” Keith replied, the corners of his mouth twitching up. 

“Not exactly what I had in mind, but it’ll do.” Allura said with a sigh.

“Alright, now you two get over to Hunk. You shouldn’t keep him waiting for too long.” Shiro mused, that amused glint never leaving his eye. He dropped his hand from Keith’s shoulder and gave a small wave as the two passed. Lance had brightened up pretty quick, looking forward to seeing his best friend, even if they did already see each other almost everyday. Keith on the other hand, had a more neutral outlook. After all, he had never met this Hunk person before. In fact, he only knew a small handful of the castle’s residents so far. 

Lance led the way, trotting down the halls with Keith slinking after him. He knocked at the door once before slipping into the room, holding the door open for Keith behind him. Two other people were inside, the bigger one sitting at the table that had been set up, and the smaller one sitting on the edge of said table, legs dangling over the edge. Lance had a pleased look on his face as he called out a greeting. Keith stood a bit further back, feeling pretty out of place. 

The smaller one pushed themself off of the table and walked over to Lance, bumping fists with him before turning their attention to Keith. “Is this the guy?” They asked, only looking away to see Lance’s nod. They stepped forward, scanning Keith up and down before holding out a hand. “I’m Pidge, nice to meet you.”

Keith hesitated a moment before shaking the other’s hand. “Keith.” Pidge dropped his hand and ran their gaze up and down Keith one last time, sizing him up.

Lance watched the exchanged, an amused and somewhat curious expression on his face. Pidge shrugged and turned to face him. “Well, I’ve got stuff I should be doing. I’ll be honest, I just wanted to see if Keith checked out or not.”

“Aww, you were all concerned for me.” Lance teased, a grin on his face. “How sweet!”

“It won’t be so sweet if you keep acting like a douche.” Pidge said, rolling their eyes. It was obvious they didn’t mean it though. “But yes, what a surprise. I, your friend, was concerned that the guy you’re marrying might not be good enough. What a shocking realization.” Sarcasm dripped through their words. 

Keith only felt more lost and out of place. These guys were obviously good friends, it felt weird to just be watching. Like he didn’t belong. “In any case, he seems alright. You definitely could have done worse, not that it was really up to you.” The smaller Altean shook their head then gave a wave. “I’ll properly catch up with you later. Bye Hunk.” The other person in the room lifted his head and gave a wave in return. 

Pidge moved to leave. As they passed Keith, they looked over and said in a quiet voice, only loud enough for the Galra to hear. “If you hurt him, it won't be pretty.” Then Pidge was gone and Keith was half convinced he had imagined it. Lance motioned for Keith to join him before taking his seat at the table, plopping down next to, who Keith assumed was, Hunk. 

“So, where should we start?” Hunk asked, a friendly look on his face. He opened up a folder, spreading out a few papers and shuffling through notes. He had come pretty prepared it seemed. “I’ve already set up tomorrow for food and stuff. That way you guys can sample some of it. You’ve only gotta pick out a handful of dishes anyways. The rest though is pretty much fair game.” 

“Hmm.” Lance thought for a moment before shrugging. “Any ideas?” He asked Keith. Keith only copied Lance’s shrug, just as lost as the other. 

“You two are a load of help.” Hunk joked, looking between the two. He shifted through a few more papers before deciding on something for the pair. “Alright, how about this? We can start with flowers. That’s pretty straight forward.”

“Sounds good to me.” Keith replied with a nod, glancing over to see if Lance would agree. There seemed to be no objection and Hunk gave a big smile, glad to finally have something to work with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, the positive feedback is really reassuring aha. I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying the story so far, thank you for reading! School will be starting later this week but I'll still be doing my best to get those chapters out!


	4. Chapter 4

Twenty minutes later and Hunk was no longer glad about what he had to work with. Lance and Keith had no idea what they were doing. Keith kept insisting on roses. Hunk was pretty sure he was only choosing them because they were the stereotypical flower of romance. Lance on the other hand, was listing off pretty much every flower he knew, spouting nonsense about how they could work. Pretty much every reason he could think of, Hunk could think of ten reasons to say no. 

It was a relief when Allura stopped by to check on things. “How is everything going?” She had asked. One glance at Hunk’s face told her what she needed to know, and the curious look dropped. “Alright Hunk, what’ve they done now?”

“Hey! Why do you automatically assume Hunk had nothing to do with it?” Lance pouted, glaring up at Allura.

“Because I know you Lance. You’re my brother. Plus, Hunk is one of the least problematic people I know.” Ignoring Lance’s disbelieving snort, she turned her attention back to Hunk, raising an eyebrow.

“Flowers.” Hunk rolled his eyes at the exasperated Lance. “These two know nothing about flowers.” Keith looked like he was going to argue for a moment but then thought better of it, shutting his mouth quickly. “They’re barely giving me time to offer insight.”

Allura paused for a moment before speaking. “Well, what about the juniberries?” She offered. “After all, they’re the most iconic Altean flower. Oh! And Lance, mother and father had them in their wedding!” She added on excitedly. 

“Really?” Lance seemed to pick up Allura’s interest quickly.

“Yes! I can find some photos. It looked so beautiful, I wish I could have been there myself.” Allura had a fond expression, looking over to Lance. “I’d definitely consider it if I were you. I’ll go and look for those photos now, maybe you can come up with some ideas because of them.” 

“That’s the best pitch I’ve heard all day. Thanks Allura.” Hunk smiled softly, glancing at the siblings. Allura gave an excited nod before scurrying off to do as she said and find those pictures. 

Allura’s mood seemed to have rubbed off on Lance, his usual grin had appeared again but for once didn’t seem so cocky. “What do you think Keith?” He prompted, looking over at the other in a hopeful sort of way. 

Keith nodded, hesitating before giving a small smile. “It seems like a good idea to me. Better than the roses at least. You know, sentimental value and stuff.”

“What about you?” Lance asked. He took Keith’s confused look as a cue to elaborate. “Your parents. Do you know what kind of flowers they had? Do Galras even have flowers at their weddings? I’m not really sure.” 

“Eh, no. I don’t know about the flowers. But yeah, I’m pretty sure most Galra weddings are similar to yours.” Keith seemed almost hesitant to answer.

Hunk tilted his head to the side. “That’s strange. How did they decorate then? Some other kind of plant maybe? Gems?”

Keith gave a small shake of the head. “I don’t know. It’s not really something that’s talked about. I-I don’t even know what my mom looked like. So I can’t really tell you much.” He seemed to shrink in on himself, glancing around the room in an uncomfortable way. 

“Why isn’t it talked about? And how can’t you know? There’s gotta be pictures or something!” Lance asked loudly, confusion flickering across his eyes. Hunk shoved at his shoulder with a grunt of disapproval. “What did I do?” He huffed, narrowing his eyes at Hunk. 

“I don’t know. I’d say ask Zarkon but I doubt he’d tell you anything.” Keith snapped, standing up rather abruptly. Hunk looked like he was debating if he should say anything but before he could come up with an answer, Keith had stormed off, the air crackling where he once was. Hunk sighed loudly, glaring at Lance.

Lance opened his mouth but was quickly cut off by the other. “Don’t even say it. Yes, I’m pinning that on you. It was pretty obvious that was a touchy subject. You can’t be so direct.” 

“How was I supposed to know he was gonna get triggered or whatever? It was a simple enough question.” Lance complained. He did have to admit, he was pretty guilty now that it had happened. After a moment, he frowned. “I should probably go apologize or something. Right?” 

“Right.” Hunk glanced at the papers on the table. “I don’t think we’re getting much done today. I think I’ll track down Allura and get those pictures. I’ll try to come up with a few ideas and you guys can look them over tomorrow.” He started pushing the papers together to pick them up.

“Thanks Hunk. Sorry we weren’t too helpful.” He gave the other a thankful and apologetic look before standing up and pushing in his chair. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Later.” Hunk didn’t bother to look up from his papers, but Lance gave a wave anyways before heading out.

It took a lot longer than Lance would have liked to find Keith. He checked just about everywhere else before coming back to the training room. He found Keith in there, once again attacking the sparring bot. But this time was a bit different. Instead of the fluid and sure movements Lance had witnessed before, Keith was fighting with much more savage, jerky swings. In addition, the bot was fighting at a much higher level than it probably should be. Not only was it a bit scary to watch, it was downright unsafe. 

Before Lance could say anything, Keith swung a bit too hard and missed. The motion carried him down to the ground with a loud crash as his sword skidded away from him. The bot bared down on him, ready to strike. Without hesitating, Lance pushed himself forward, shouting a very frantic “Watch out!” 

Keith could only watch stunned as the staff hit Lance in the face with a crack. “Program end!” He scrambled forward, catching Lance before he could hit the floor with a panicked and shocked expression. “Lance. Lance? Holy fuck, why the hell would you do that?” He gushed out, cradling the other close. A closer look at the other showed he probably had a broken nose and was already sporting a large bruise. Lance had been knocked out cold by the hit. 

Carefully pulling himself to his feet so he wouldn’t jostle Lance too much, he carried the other out of the room quickly, in search for help. Keith was worried sick. Guilt filled every footstep. Even after he had found Coran, it stayed with him, threatening to swallow him whole. Even though Lance probably shouldn’t have jumped in front of him like that, Keith still felt like it was his fault. This shouldn’t have happened, not to Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. School has been dreadful. Sorry about the slower updates, I've been pretty busy with the school work, blugh.


	5. Chapter 5

He knew it wouldn’t really help. Lance wasn’t going to come out of that healing pod any faster if he sat there and watched. Allura had already tried to reassure him Lance would be fine in about a day, but Keith was having none of that. It was unnerving, the way he stood there unmoving. The only sign of life, and the only thing keeping Keith in line, was the slight rise and fall of his chest. 

His worry and guilt had ended up keeping him awake anyways, he couldn’t have possibly slept even if he tried. Lost in his own thoughts, he almost missed the hissing noise as the healing pod opened up. Lance stumbled out, his eyes a bit hazy as he woke up. He tripped on the way down and Keith quickly stepped forward to catch him. He held onto Lance’s shoulders, steadying the other. “Keith?” Lance mumbled, recognition flickering in his eyes.

“Yeah, it's me.” Keith examined the other closely, only letting go of him once he was sure Lance was fine. “What the fuck were you thinking?” His voice suddenly changed as he growled with frustration. “You can’t just jump in front of me like that! It was stupid and reckless!” 

“Just like you when you decided to fight the sparring bot like that.” Lance muttered, still a bit groggy. “That was pretty stupid and reckless too.” 

Keith’s face dropped back to the regretful look he had earlier. “...Yeah. It was.” He stepped back a bit, shifting from foot to foot. “I… I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have gone off like that. You got hurt and, and fuck. I think I messed up, huh?” He gave a forced laugh, seeming tense. He obviously didn’t know how to deal with the situation. 

Lance shrugged, easily sensing Keith’s unease. “Nah, it’s fine. I think I’m pretty much the one who set you off in the first place. Besides, I’m the one who decided to step in.”

“You could have just called for the program to end.” Keith pointed out with a frown. “It was pretty mouse brained of you to take the hit.” He couldn’t quite mask the concern in his voice. 

“Yeah. I uh, didn’t really think that through.” Lance rubbed at his cheek, pressing his fingers against the afflicted spot gently. “But it’s all good now. Those healing pods are a godsend.” He flashed a small grin. “No need to worry.”

 

“I guess.” A frown flickered on Keith’s face. “Still though-”

He was cut off quickly by Lance. “Nope! We’re done with that. I can see the bags under your eyes. Which is pretty impressive considering they’re purple just like your skin. It’s just purple on purple.” He shrugged. “While I’m flattered you were all worried, I’m fine so the pity party is over. Got it?”

Keith bit back a snarky remark with a small nod of his head. “Fine.” He grumbled with narrowed eyes. He looked like he had more to say but kept it to himself. “But I still think you’re an idiot.”

“Same to you buddy.” Lance shot back with a grin. He lightly cuffed Keith over the head as he walked past. “Now come on, I need a change of clothes. And we’ve gotta see if Hunk came up with anything.” He paused. “...Oh yeah. Hunk. Does he know what happened?” Keith gave a small shake of the head. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Why?” Keith asked, following behind Lance as he strode across the room and towards the door. “Wouldn’t he want to know?” 

“Yeah, he would. But then he’d worry and make a fuss. I don’t want to stress the guy out, especially with all this wedding stuff going on.” Keith blinked in surprise. Lance was acting a lot more mature about the situation then he had thought he would. He supposed he was being a bit unfair though, he had only recently met Lance. Besides their first impressions, the two didn’t have much to go off of when it came to the other. 

“I guess, yeah.” Keith blinked, leaning to pick up his discarded jacket before the doors could shut behind them. He pulled the red cropped jacket over himself, not slowing to put it on. The two walked quietly from there, both unsure if the silence was comfortable or just awkward. 

Lance stopped rather abruptly, Keith nearly bumping into him. “We’re at my room. You good to wait out here while I change? I swear it won’t be too long.” 

“Yeah, just try not to take forever. According to Allura, you have a tendency to do that.” Keith rolled his eyes.

“Hey, a man’s gotta look his best!” Lance objected with a chuckle. He slipped into the room and shut the door lightly behind him. He stripped out of the white healing suit and quickly put on something a lot more comfortable. He figured the only one who would really nitpick when it came to his clothing would be Allura and decided to spring for something more casual. Soon enough, Lance had thrown on a pair of jeans and a blue and white baseball tee. Last second he snatched up his father’s old jacket, an off green colour with a white hood, and tugged it on. 

“Took you long enough.” Keith teased when Lance finally came back out despite it having only been five minutes tops. 

“Oh come on, I was quick enough! It’s not like you were gonna starve out here.” Lance rolled his eyes. “If it was really an issue you could have just gone ahead.” Keith gave a small shrug and started off, not waiting to see if Lance was following. He was, and caught up quickly with his long legs. “Rude, I was talking.” 

The pair once again fell into the strange silence. Every now and then, Lance would glance up at Keith like he had something to say. It only took a few seconds for him to drop his head again, stopping himself from speaking his mind. Keith noticed fairly quickly but didn’t speak against it. If Lance had something to say he wasn’t gonna stop him. 

They reached the same room as yesterday and let themselves in. Hunk had already set evrything up. The contents from his folder were spread across a table. Another table had been set up on the other side of the room. Various dishes were on top, all looking delicately prepared and set for perfection. 

“Oh hell yes, we get to do the taste testing! I forgot about that.” Lance grinned, moving towards the table. 

Hunk reached out and snagged the back of Lance’s hood, stopping him in his tracks. “Nope. Not so fast. We need to deal with the flowers first. If you two weren’t so bad at it yesterday, we could have started with the food.” Lance gave a small whine but reluctantly gave in, plopping into one of the chairs at the table. 

Keith sat on the other side, equal distance between Lance and Hunk. He looked up at the bulkier male, a strange look flickering onto his face. “Um. I uh, I’m sorry about storming out yesterday.” He mumbled, once again looking awkward and out of place.

Hunk waved him off. “Don’t be. I’m just glad you seem better now.” He smiled over at Keith. The Galra looked a bit surprised but hesitantly returned the look. Hunk picked up a few pictures. He handed about half to Lance and the rest to Keith. “These were what Allura brought to me. I’ve already sketched up a few ideas but I’m afraid they’re not quite as good as the originals.” He pulled out a few more papers as the two looked at the old photos.

They really were beautiful. The juniberries were weaved into intricate patterns and designs. They were complemented by smaller light blue flowers and the branches of some sort of leafy plant. These bundles were spread around the area. A vase was set at each table, each filled with a perfectly arranged bouquet. In addition, there was a large golden arch above the altar draped in the flowers. 

Lance now knew what Allura meant when she said she wished she could have been there. It must have looked even more amazing in person. He glanced over at the photos in Keith’s hands. The corner of one at the bottom of his stack caught his attention. Without asking, Lance reached over and snagged it away, taking a good look. 

It was his parents, dressed in their wedding clothes and standing beneath the flowers. Lance’s father was in a simple black tuxedo with a single juniberry tucked into his pocket. His mother wore a long lacy white dress that spilled out onto the floor. She had the smaller blue flowers weaved into her hair. They were both smiling, an excited and joyful expression on their faces. They looked so happy. 

Lance felt himself choking up and bit and set the photo to the side, making sure it was still in reach. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked back to Hunk. “So. What did you come up with?” He asked, a fond and tad bit sad, smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie, I took my sweet time getting this up, huh? Sorry about that, I've been trying really hard but school is a real pain in the ass. Once again, thank you for all the positive feedback, I really appreciate it!!


	6. Chapter 6

Four hours later and pretty much everything had been sorted out. Hunk’s ideas were all amazing in their own way. Despite his worries, both Keith and Lance had been pleasantly surprised with his ideas. It hadn’t take too long to pick out their favorites and put it all together. The taste testing took a bit longer. In the end though, they had picked out a good handful of dishes to be served. There may or may not have been a mini food fight between Keith and Lance, but it was quickly broken up by Hunk. The extra bits and pieces had been tucked in and it was now all in Hunk’s hands. Lance was more than confident his friend would be able to pull it all together in a wonderful and unique way, just like he always did.

Lance and Keith were now walking back to their rooms, side by side and ready to retire for the night. About halfway down the hall, Lance had started glancing at Keith again, unsaid questions laying on the tip of his tongue. This time, Keith didn’t quite let it slide. Screw his earlier resolve, this was getting a little frustrating. 

“You gonna ask or are you planning on gawking forever?” Keith asked with a raised eyebrow. Lance snapped his mouth shut and turned his head away from Keith, cheeks flushing in embarrassment at being caught. “Well?”

It took Lance a few moments before looking back. His curiosity was just too much for him to sit back and ignore it. “Can I ask you why you got so upset when I asked you about your mom? I know I was a bit brash but still, there’s gotta be more to it than that.” He clamped his mouth shut again, unsure if that was pushing it or not.

Keith gave a small sigh. He was quiet for a few moments but nodded. “Fine.” He glanced down the hall, checking for other people. The coast was clear. Keith stopped in his tracks and plopped down on the floor, crossing his legs and leaning back against the wall. He patted the space next to him, gesturing for Lance to sit down. The lanky Altean obliged quickly, not willing to pass up a chance like this. 

“So.” Keith gave a small huff, his nose scrunching up as he thought of how to begin. “I’m... sorta the big family disappointment. I think the real reason dad refuses to tell me about my mom is because I wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s obvious he didn’t want anyone to know who she was, he kept it a secret from just about everyone. Lotor is his pride and joy, I’m just supposed to be in the shadows. Out of view. You know.” Keith gave a small shrug.

Lance was listening carefully, a frown plastered on his face. “That’s not right. You’re his son! He-”

Keith cut him off pretty quickly. “I know. It’s not fair, bluh, bluh, bluh. It’s easy to see where he’s coming from though. I’m basically illegitimate. A half blood. Lotor was the real heir to the throne, not me. But I’m what he got stuck with. Obviously he isn’t too happy about that.” A quiet growl rose in the back of his throat as he spoke. “And who would be? Lotor was the one leading troops out to battle. Lotor was the one winning fights. Lotor was someone he could be proud of! But now that he’s gone, I’m what’s left. Not exactly the best substitute.” He ranted on, seeming to forget the filters that kept him from spilling these sorts of things. “It doesn’t matter if I do everything exactly the same as Lotor, I’m not even worth half as much. Zarkon never even let me go fight, he tried to keep me locked away.”

Lance’s frown only deepened. He knew Keith most likely wouldn’t be venting all this to him if he hadn’t been keeping it to himself for so long. He probably didn’t have anyone to say these sorts of things to back home. Shiro maybe, but Lance doubted the Galra would have spilled. “That’s not true.” He muttered quietly. Keith snapped his head up, looking up at Lance with a slightly startled expression. He obviously hadn’t meant to say that much to the other. “I don’t know if it means anything coming from me, but I think you’re worth way more than Lotor. Not that I’ve ever met him, but still. I’d take you over him any day.”

“Oh.” Keith fell quiet, staring down at his feet. He didn’t know what to do with that information. He didn’t know what to do with himself. Keith wasn’t sure what had come over him. He’d never made the mistake of revealing that much, especially about himself. Something came over him, something made him willing to talk without thinking about it. He felt a bit uneasy about it all.

Once again it fell to Lance to pick up the slack. “Since you told me your business, I think it’s only fair I tell you mine.” He shifted in his spot, trying to get more comfortable in the cold hallway. He normally only spoke about these sort of things with Allura, but after Keith had blurt out his biggest issue, it felt okay. “I’m a lot simpler to spread out. I don’t have it nearly as bad.” He blinked, tilting his head to the side. “I never actually knew my Mother either. She died giving birth to me. But Allura and father told me so much about her, I can imagine what she was like.” His eyes gained a distant look as he stared off into space. “I wish I could have known her, for real. She was the most wonderful sort of person. But I wasn’t alone, even with her gone. I had both father and Allura there for me. They made sure I was never lonely.”

“But now you don’t have your father either.” Keith murmured, his own worries shielding themselves away now that he had something new to focus on. 

“No, I don’t.” Lance gave a small sigh, his bright blue eyes darkening. “I’m glad the war is finally over. It’s taken too much from too many people. Pidge lost their dad and brother. You lost Lotor, even if you weren’t the closest. Me and Allura lost dad. And so many other people did too. It’s just not right.” He paused for a moment. “Allura was amazing. She didn’t take any time to herself to grieve. She just kept marching on for the sake of the Alteans.”

“Even my people admired her for that.” Keith added on. “King Zarkon was convinced after the king was dead he would win. But you guys bounced right back and struck twice as hard. Allura gained Lotor’s respect almost immediately.”

“Yeah.” Lance gave a small smile. “Allura always seems to know what to do. I wish I could be half as strong as her.” His shoulders slumped slightly. “Father would have been so proud. Mother too.” 

“I bet they would have been proud of you too.” Keith said meekly, his bright yellow eyes widening slightly. He hastily said in an earnest voice, “Look at you now, you’re literally about to get married to a complete stranger just to unite your people and mine. Not a lot of people could do that, much less deal with the pressure. Especially when it’s supposed to signal the end of a war.”

Lance gave a small snort, rolling his eyes. “You’re doing the same thing, dummy.” His expression had lightened a tad at that though, and Keith couldn’t help but feel a bit glad. He had already decided a while ago he preferred Lance as his happy go lucky self. 

“I guess I am.” Keith agreed, giving the other a slight smile. Lance returned it with a small grin of his own. 

“I didn’t expect this to turn into a therapy talk session.” Lance added after a moment with a light chuckle. “Whoops. I think I’ve over exceeded my heavy topic limit, time to conk the fuck out.” He slid down the side of the wall, laying down on the floor at an awkward and crumpled position. 

Keith shook his head. “Get up you oaf. If you’re gonna sleep, you definitely don’t want to be laying like that. You’ll never get rid of the kink in your neck then.” He stood up himself, hesitating a moment before hold out a hand to Lance and pulling him up. 

Lance took the other’s hand almost instantly, popping up onto his feet. He rolled his shoulders, stretching out for a moment before looking over at Keith. “You’re probably right but hey, it’s my castle. I can sleep wherever I like.” Keith simply rolled his eyes at the other. “But yeah. Thank you.” Lance mumbled, his voice dropping in volume. “For telling me and stuff.”

Keith gave a gauche shrug. “Thanks for listening I guess.” Not wanting to dole on the subject for too much longer, Keith started walking back down the hall. “Night Lance.” He called out.  
“Good night Keith.” Lance watched the other for a few moments longer, then set off to his own room, suddenly feeling exhausted by today’s events. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, it's time for an update. School hasn't relented at all. Life neither. So I apologize about the slower updates. I'm working on it, ahah!


	7. Chapter 7

Keith didn’t come answer the door after Lance knocked. He didn’t answer when Lance called out his name. He didn’t even make a move when Lance broke into the other’s bedroom and strolled across the room. It took a moment for Lance to realize the other was still asleep. For the past few days, it had always been the other way around. Keith would be the one up and about early and Lance would be almost late to their meetings, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

Lance loomed over the other, trying to get a peek. Keith was bunched up in a tight ball, only the tips of his ears peeking out of the covers. He murmured something too quiet to hear and rolled over, his nose scrunching a bit. Lance poked his shoulder gently, not really wanting to be the one to wake him. He was gonna have to though, unless they both wanted to be late. 

Keith didn’t respond so Lance grabbed his shoulder and shook. “Hey. Hey Keith. Gotta wake up bud.” This time, the Galra swatted at his hand then buried himself deeper into the soft blankets. Giving a determined look, Lance gave the other a shove, pushing him right off of the bed. 

Keith gave a loud yelp, eyes snapping open as he hit the ground with a small thud. “The fuck Lance?” He narrowed his eyes at the other, his words still a bit slurred and grumpy sounding with sleep. “I was sleeping!”

“I could see that. You’re gonna want to wake up though. We’ve gotta get fitted for the wedding, remember?” Lance flashed a small smirk, feeling pretty amused by Keith’s awakening. “And what’s up with this?” He asked, gesturing to Keith’s clothes. “Did you forget to bring pajamas or what?” The other was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, though now they were looking a bit crumpled.

“I just didn’t change, no big deal.” Keith bit back a yawn, slowly getting to his feet. “And yes, obviously I completely and utterly forgot about the preparations for the wedding. Guess it’s just not significant enough.” He gave a shrug, looking at Lance with a sleepy, yet sly expression. 

“Wow. Rude much? And here I was, thinking I meant something to you. You’ve broken my poor little heart, Keith. Absolutely shattered it. What a monster!” Lance’s words and actions were both overly dramatic. He flung a hand across his forehead, fluttering his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” Keith gave the other a small shove towards the door. “Now shoo,I’ve gotta get changed. We’ve got separate fittings anyways so you don’t need to wait up.” He cleared his throat, heading over and shoving around the clothes in his closet. “And thanks for waking me up.” He added on, not bothering to look up. 

“No problem. It’s not like you to oversleep though.” Lance shrugged, leaning against the door frame. 

“You’re right, it’s not.” Keith finally found something that looked decent and pulled it out, throwing onto his bed. “Now out.” He nudged Lance forward, shutting the door behind him and locking it just in case Lance tried to get in again. He heard a muffled shout of “Hey!” through the door and gave a small chuckle as he turned to swap clothes. 

Since Keith had said to, Lance went on ahead to his own fitting. He was set up with Hunk’s girlfriend (though if asked, they’d both blush furiously and deny it), Shay. Despite her bulky and earthy appearance, she was surprisingly good at sewing. Admittedly, there were better tailors in the kingdom, but Lance had specifically requested her. Afterall, by this point he considered her a pretty good friend. Plus it was fun to throw a couple jabs about her and Hunk every now and then. 

The fitting itself went pretty well. Only a few measurements and adjustments had to be made. Lance had already had plenty of fittings in the past, most of his tailors already knew how to make something fit him well. Afterwards, Lance ended up, lounging around with Shay, idly chatting while she worked her magic. Pidge popped in too, and soon enough, Hunk. 

Keith on the other hand, wasn’t having as easy of a time. Naturally it was going to take a bit longer, he was a new person and that meant new measurements. However, his etiquette wasn’t quite as good in this area as it was in others. Back home he hardly ever had his own fittings. He wasn’t exactly invited along to many social events that would require him to dress nice so there wasn’t much need. It definitely showed here and ended up adding an extra hour or so onto his session. 

The entire time he couldn’t help but feel awfully warm and uncomfortable. He had been pricked one two many times when he accidentally moved or sneezed. When he was finally free to go, it felt like a blessing in disguise. He stopped in one of the many bathrooms on his way to the common room to splash some water in his face. When he finally did reach the common room, he was more than happy to plop down on the couch and never move again. He ended up having to move anyways about ten minutes later, but didn’t mind too much. 

Shiro had come along and scooted Keith aside so he could sit down next to the other. The older male, leaned back into his seat, tipping his head back with a small groan. “I’m just telling you now Keith, planning this wedding is exhausting and I should definitely be making you do more work than you have.”

“But you won’t.” Keith mumbled with a hint of amusement. He sprawled out on his half of the couch. “Besides, I’m not sure if my work would be quality. I’m feeling pretty beat and I didn’t even do much today.” 

Shiro gave a light chuckle. “You’ll have days like that.” The two chattered on for awhile longer, each telling the other about the people they’ve met and the things they’ve done since coming here. “You know Keith, I think we’ll both be just fine here. It’s already starting to feel like home and I’m not even sure why.”

“You sure you don’t know?” Keith asked with a sly smile. Shiro gave him a puzzled look. “What about Allura? You seem to be talking about her much more than anything else.”

“What? No, don’t be silly. Yes, she’s been a great help and is very pleasant to work with, but it doesn’t go beyond that.” Shiro wasn’t doing a very good job convincing anyone, especially not with his red face. He seemed to realize this and shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Allura is a very nice lady but I assure you, my feelings are completely platonic.” He tried in one last ditch effort. 

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to keep from melting away in her presence.” Keith gave a small laugh, grinning up at Shiro’s dumb expression. “At this rate, my wedding won’t be the only one happening this year.” 

“Keith!” Shiro reached over and ruffled the other’s hair. “I think this conversation is done. And no buts!” He cut Keith off before the younger male could even say a word. “So. How have you been getting along with Lance? No more silly arguments I hope.”

“A few. But for the most part I think it’s been good. He’s definitely not the worst person I could have been stuck with.” Keith closed his eyes, rolling his head side from side. “I think we’ll be fine here too.”

A warm smile spread across Shiro’s face. “I’m glad.” He said softly. Shiro lifted his head as the door slid open. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge marched in, all too preoccupied with one another to notice Keith or Shiro. “Well. I think I’m going to get back to Allura now. Your friends are here.” Shiro stood up to leave, glancing back at Keith one last time before slipping away.

“Friends?” Keith echoed quietly, propping himself up on his forearms and looking over to the newcomers. 

Lance looked away from his little group and caught Keith’s eyes. He gave a grin and split off, heading over to the Galra. “Keith! There you are! We were looking for you. Seriously, what took your fitting so long?” Lance flopped down on the couch next to Keith, bouncing on the cushion. Keith gave a shrug.

“Yeah, I’ve been looking for you too.” Pidge muttered, stalking up behind Lance. Hunk gave the smaller Altean a frown but before he could say anything Pidge had crouched down in front of the couch, staring Keith down. 

“Uh, Pidge?” Lance waved a hand in front of the other but only got it swat down. 

Pidge glanced at Lance then back to Keith. “I told you not to hurt him.” 

Hunk glanced at Keith. “Wait, what? Did he-”

Lance cut in this time. “Hey, no! No no no. That was literally all me? Pidge what the heck?” Pidge rounded on the other. “I told you not to watch me on the surveillance cams anymore! It’s creepy and weird.”

 

“You’re creepy and weird! And, you got hurt, no thanks to him.” Pidge jabbed Keith in the chest with their thumb. “I saw it!”

“But you don’t have any context. It’s not Keith’s fault I jumped into the sparring bot. And I’m fine now! Look, all good. Ten out of ten.” Pidge gave a small huff of frustration. 

Keith had simply been sitting there quietly, watching the exchange with wide eyes. “I, I think I’m gonna go. To my room. Now. Um, y-yeah.” He chattered nervously, shifting out of his seat and standing up. 

“No, you’re fine. It’s Pidge who’s being an idiot.” Lance glared. Keith just shook his head, quickly turning and slipping out of the room. 

“Get back here Keith!” Pidge yelled out, shaking a fist after him. They let out a small yelp as Lance tackled them to the couch. “Hey! Why are you defending him like this?”

 

“Why are you being such an ass?” 

“Knock it off, both of you.” Hunk said in a loud booming voice, prying the two apart. “I don’t know what’s going on, because nobody bothered to tell me, but you’re both overreacting. Look at you! You two never get this riled up.” He pushed the two apart even further. “You two stay here. I’m going to go get Keith. Obviously you two upset him.” Both Lance and Pidge shrunk under Hunk’s glare. The usually passive Hunk could be really intimidating when he wanted to and he wasn’t exactly the kind of person you liked to disappoint. 

“When I get back, all three of you are going to be civil. Then, all three of you will tell me what happened.” Hunk watched the two of them for a moment, daring them to try to object. Neither did and he gave a small nod, moving towards the door. “Stay right where you are.” He called out over his shoulder, glancing back as he bumped through the doorframe. Pidge and Lance shared a final conflicted glance before lowering their eyes in wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait on this chapter. School's been a bitch and my cat went missing. She's back now thank goodness, but ey. Anyways, I always imagined Pidge would become a little ball of anger if you hurt their family, on purpose or not. And Hunk is more than able to step up and force order into a situation, ahah. I also really love a bashful Shiro so there's that.


	8. Chapter 8

Keith had sat down on the edge of his bed, staring vacantly off into space. He knew Pidge was right, Lance had been hurt because of him. He couldn’t help but feel a bit betrayed, though he was well aware he had no right to be. He hadn’t spoken with Pidge much prior, he had hoped to have a word or two with them later on. Now that didn’t really seem like an option. 

 

Keith heard a knock at the door and gave a small grunt. The door opened and in came Hunk. The bulky Altean sat down on the bed next to Keith, looking over at him with a calm face. “Hey.”

 

“Hey.” Keith glanced at the other, a bit surprised that Hunk had been the one to come fetch him but quick to mask it. “I guess you want me to tell you what Pidge was going on ab-” He cut himself off with a sneeze. “Sorry.”

 

“Yes and no. You’re going to come back with me first, then you can tell me. I think it’d be easier to resolve this with everyone in one place.” Hunk paused, looking over at Keith with a concerned face. “You don’t look so hot, you doing okay?” Before Keith could respond, Hunk reached over and stuck a hand to Keith’s forehead. He frowned and dropped his hand with a small shake of the head. “Feels like you’ve got a fever. Guess that explains why you didn’t really argue with Pidge like I thought you would. You’ve got a pretty fiery aura.” Hunk ruffled Keith’s hair before standing up. “Come on, after you and Pidge make up we’ll see if Coran has anything for you.” 

 

“Eh?” Keith got up and followed after Hunk, feeling even more confused and a bit flustered. The Alteans just seemed much less distant than the Galras and to be honest, Keith was still having difficulty adjusting to how easy going the bunch he met was, especially Hunk. “Wait, I’m not sick.” He argued, only just really registering what Hunk had said. He stumbled after the other down the hall, deciding to ignore the snort that came from Hunk. 

 

“Normally, a burning forehead means sick. Not to mention your sneeze.” Hunk shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Has the mighty Keith never been sick before?”

 

Keith narrowed his eyes. “I’ve been sick before.” He huffed, feet clunking on the floor loudly as he followed Hunk back to the common room. 

 

Hunk nudged him with a small laugh. “C’mon dude, I’m just messing with you. Loosen up a bit.” Keith opened his mouth in retort but shut it soon again as Hunk opened the door and pushed him inside. Pidge and Lance were still sitting on the couch where Hunk had left them, no longer arguing. Keith watched the floor intently, not wanting to catch anyone’s eyes. He felt like a little kid, running off then being forced to come back and walk the path of shame. 

 

Hunk dragged him over to the couch and made Keith sit in between the other two. “Now. I’d like you guys to explain what this is all about.” He glanced at all three offenders, no one wanting to talk. “Fine. Pidge first. Tell me what happened.”  
“....” Pidge gave a huff. “Fine. I was messing around and watching some of the surveillance cam footage. I came across a clip where Keith was fighting with the sparring bots. He obviously wasn’t supposed to have them on that high of a level with no one watching, it was all really fast paced. Because he was being careless,” They pointed a finger directly at Keith, “Lance got knocked out when he tried to intervene.” 

 

“That wasn’t Keith’s fault! I was the one who jumped in!” Lance immediately piped up. 

 

Hunk shot him a look. “It’s not your turn to talk. Pidge, are you finished with your side?” The small Altean gave a nod and Lance hissed under his breath. “Keith, what do you have to say about it?”

 

“Pidge is right.” Was his quick response. Pidge gave a confused noise, tilting their head and looking over at Keith with a mystified look. They hadn’t expected the Galra to agree with them, especially since their accusations were against said prince. Lance was literally biting on his tongue to keep from arguing. Hunk watched him suffer for a moment longer before nodding at him, giving him permission to speak.

 

“Okay, first off that wasn’t Keith’s fault at all! I made him frustrated which is why he went to go fight the sparring bots, you know that Hunk. Secondly, I got hit because I jumped right into it! So once again, my fault. Not Keith’s. Thirdly, I’m perfectly fine! If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be here arguing for Keith’s case! If it actually was Keith’s fault I got hit, I wouldn’t be defending him!” Lance spewed out quickly, not even taking the time to breathe. He took a deep breath, ready to launch himself into the next half of his rant but Hunk put a hand to his mouth.

 

“I think we get the point.” He dropped his hand and looked between the three. “So, now that everything has been said, does anyone want to change sides?” He made a point to look at Pidge while saying this. 

 

They looked away from Hunk’s gaze, a bit flustered. “Alright, so maybe it wasn’t entirely Keith’s fault. But Lance still got hurt so I’m still well within my rights to be protective!” 

 

Lance reached over Keith to ruffle Pidge’s hair. “C’mon Pidgeon, I’m fine! Your concern is appreciated but you can’t just get mad at Keith like that.”

 

Pidge sighed. “Yeah, I know.” They looked over to Keith and gave a sheepish smile, shoving Lance’s arm away. “I’m sorry I flipped out at you. It’s just really stressful right now, and you and Lance are gonna be married, and Lance is precious you know? He’s gotta be protected and-”  
Keith cut them off before they could go any further, saving an embarrassed looking Lance. “It’s fine. I get it. I’m the stranger here and you want to protect Lance.” Pidge gave a relieved nod. “And I’m sorry for letting him get hit. Good thing he has such a thick head, huh.”

 

“Hey!” Lance’s embarrassment turned to indignation in a matter of seconds. “You know, this could have been a great moment if you hadn’t of said that! Rude much?” Pidge clasped a hand to their mouth, covering their giggles.   
Hunk gave a big grin, pleased that things calmed down so quickly. “See? This is much better. Now come on Keith, we can’t have you sick on your wedding day.” Hunk tugged Keith up just as the Galra let out another sneeze. 

 

“Keith’s sick?” Pidge asked, hopping up from the couch.

 

“No. I’m not.” Keith grunted, frustration pricking at his voice. It didn’t really work though, since he just ended up sneezing again. 

 

“I didn’t even know Galras could get sick!” Lance added in, ignoring the stink eye he got from Keith. 

 

“Why wouldn’t they? They’re not invincible.” Pidge snorted. Hunk simply shook his head, guiding Keith away from the brewing discourse. With the Altean’s advanced healing technology, this really shouldn’t take too long to deal with. And the sooner Keith was dealt with, the sooner Hunk could deal with his own headache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, it's been ages since I've updated. I'm super sorry for that! School has been pretty cruddy and things are sorta rough but it still probably shouldn't have taken so long. Motivation is at an all time low, rip. Thanks for putting up with it though ahah


	9. Chapter 9

“Yup! Keith’s definitely sick!” Coran confirmed, tugging on said Galra’s ear. Keith swatted at his hand, grumbling under his breath. “Don’t worry, I have just the thing.” Coran dug in his pockets, pulling out a variety of things that probably shouldn’t fit in there and dropping them onto the floor. “Nope, nu-uh, not that… Ah! Got it!” He held out a small vial of blue liquid to Keith. “Drink this and you’ll be feeling better in no time! Well, some time. You’ll be back to normal tomorrow, just in time for the wedding.” 

“Tomorrow? Can’t you just pop him in a healing pod?” Lance asked. “It’d be a lot quicker.” 

“Good idea, but it wouldn’t work.” Coran scooped up his belongings, stuffing them back into their places. “You see, the healing pods are set for physical injuries, things like broken arms and torn muscles. I suppose I could configure them for a cold, but it’s much easier to just have him sweat it out with some medicine.” 

Keith eyed the blue liquid, swishing it around a bit. “Is it supposed to glow like that?” He asked with a frown. 

“Eh, yes. I’m pretty certain at least.” Coran shrugged. “Anyways, you should go lay down. Once the medicine makes it through your system you won’t be much good for anything.”

“I’m starting to like this less and less.” Keith grumbled, crossing his arms. 

“I could sit with you if you want. Otherwise it’d be pretty boring.” Lance offered. 

“Actually Lance, I don’t think you should.” Pidge interrupted. “There’s still a few things that need to be sorted out for tomorrow, and since Keith can’t really do it, it falls to you.”

“I can do things!” Keith growled frustratedly. “It’s not like it’s gonna be physically taxing to say, oh yeah that looks nice.” 

Pretty much ignoring that outburst, the two carried on. “I mean, I guess you’re right.” Lance said with a sigh. 

“Besides, we don’t want you to get sick too. You’re wedding _is_ tomorrow!” Hunk added, giving a nod. 

“Here, I’ll go sit with Keith.” Pidge offered. 

“Nobody needs to sit with me!” Keith argued, pushing in between the others. 

“Come on Keith, let’s get you in bed.” Pidge grabbed onto Keith’s arm, dragging him away from the group. Keith simply sighed, giving in and allowing Pidge to take him away. 

“Get well soon!” Hunk called out from behind them, waving them off.

 

Keith eyed the blue vial suspiciously. He really didn’t want to drink whatever that was, but figured he really didn’t have a choice in the matter. With a grumble, he uncapped the glass and tipped it back, chugging it down as quickly as he could. It honestly wasn’t that bad tasting, though it was extremely cold. Shivering a bit, he bunkered down on the bed, pulling the covers tightly around himself. 

Pidge had pulled up a chair and set themselves down next to the bed. They looked a bit awkward and out of place, not certain in what they should say. Keith shared that look, finding it a bit weird to have someone watching him like this. 

After a few moments, Pidge shifted in their seat. “So… You feeling any better?” 

“No.”

“Okay.” And back to silence. 

“...I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Pidge finally said.

“No need. I get it, really.” Keith shrugged.

“Still, I was a jerk. I didn’t really give you a chance to even defend yourself.” 

“Pidge. Seriously, it’s fine.” Keith caught the other’s eyes with an intense look. “I shouldn’t have been so reckless in the first place.” 

“And I shouldn’t have been so quick to place the blame.”

Keith reached over and gave Pidge’s head an awkward pat. “You’re stressed. I’m stressed. Literally everyone is stressed. It’s alright.” 

Pidge gave a sigh but reluctantly nodded. “Alright, fine.” They paused for a moment. “So what should we talk about now? We’ve got time to burn.” 

Keith thought for a moment. His ears flicked and he gave a small smile. “Give me some blackmail over Lance.” He gave a mischievous look that Pidge soon returned. 

“Gladly.” 

A few hours later and Keith felt like he knew more than he needed to properly embarrass Lance if the chance presented itself. “I can’t believe…” He murmured, slapping his hand to his face in second hand embarrassment. 

“You’d think he would have learned after the fourth time, but nope.” Pidge gave a small laugh. “He just kept doing it. I don’t think he even realized!” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “I’d believe it. Man, I can’t believe I’m marrying such a dor-” He cut himself off with a large and nasty sounding sneeze. Pidge was quick to hand him a tissue which Keith took gratefully. His blankets had long since been discarded. Looks like when Coran said ‘sweat it off’, he meant it literally. Keith felt like a week’s worth of sick was attacking him at once. From what Pidge had tried to explain, that was the point. The medicine was supposed to make the user deal with the entire cold at once to get it over with. 

“Well I can’t believe Lance is marrying such a sicko!” Pidge exclaimed.

“Hey! I’m not….. Oh.” Keith narrowed his eyes a tad, though he couldn’t quite hide his amusement. These past few hours had actually been quite pleasant, all things considered. Pidge and himself had managed to hit it off after finding the right topics. Swapping future blackmail and funny stories, along with discussion of the paranormal, had helped pass the time. Keith was actually glad Pidge had come to sit with him. Sitting around with a runny nose and being plastered with sweat wouldn’t be too great with nothing to do. 

“So, are you nervous?” Pidge asked, holding up the wastebasket for Keith to trash his tissue. 

“About what?” Keith gave a puzzled look, tossing the tissue in with ease. 

Pidge set the basket down and shook their head. “You’re getting married tomorrow, duh. It’s gotta be at least a little nerve wracking.” 

“Oh, yeah.” Keith gave a sigh, flopping back down onto the bed. “I’ve been trying not to think too much about it. You know, put off the stress until it happens.” 

“I guess that’s good reasoning. How well is it working for you?”

“Not too well.” Keith gave a groan, turning over and pressing his face into his pillow. “Even with your great stories, I still barely know you guys. I only just got here a few days ago. I don’t know what to do with myself.” 

Pidge gave a sympathetic noise. “I can tell. I’m sure it’ll become a bit more natural after some time.” Keith simply gave a groan. Pidge patted his back and stood up. “You try and get some rest. I’ve gotta use the bathroom. I’ll bring you back something to eat.”  
“Make sure you wash your hands.” Pidge gave a snort and flicked the back of Keith’s head before heading off, making sure to flick off the lights and shut the door behind themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so how about that season 2!? Watching it pushed me to write this chapter up, even if it was just filler and a bit awkwardly done. 
> 
> Man, I could rant about season 2 for ages, but then this note would be longer than the chapter, rip


	10. Chapter 10

Today was the big day. Lance fidgeted nervously in his seat, annoying his hairdresser to no end. Hunk reached over and pinched his ear in a silent warning to stay still. Biting his lip, Lance sat down on his hands, doing his best to do just that. After what felt like ages, his hairdresser gave a satisfactory nod and stepped back, letting both Hunk and Lance take a look. 

Lance tilted his head, looking in the mirror. Hunk walked a circle around him. He reached over and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “Looks, great!” He cheered, giving a thankful nod to the dresser.

She gave a small smile and took a step back. “I’m going to go check on Prince Keith. If you need me you know where to find me.” She ducked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. 

Lance jumped up from his seat, giving a loud groan. “Arrgh, I feel like a thousand bees are flying around in my head!” He paced around, his nerves getting the best of him. 

Hunk gave a laugh, reaching over and putting a reassuring hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Don’t get cold feet now.” He teased. 

“I’m not, I’m not. I’m just…. Arggghhh!” Lance pressed his face into the other’s shoulder, giving another loud groan. “Do you think dad was this nervous? I can’t imagine it, he was always so calm and collected.” 

“I’ve got a feeling he was just as bad, if not worse, than you.” Hunk reassured the other, patting his back. “Now straighten up, you’ll wrinkle your suit.” 

 

Meanwhile, Keith wasn’t doing much better. He wasn’t as fidgety as Lance, but instead was so rigid Shiro was half concerned he might shatter. The hairdresser had come in and started braiding small, barely noticeable, purple flowers into his hair. It was an old Galran tradition, one Coran had informed them of. He said it was a practice not too common as of now because of the war, but it used to be quite popular. Twice now she had to ask if it was alright, afraid that it wasn’t meeting expectations because of Keith’s rigid posture. Both times Keith only gave a nod and an incoherent mumble, and Shiro did his best to translate. 

By the time she was done, Shiro was sure Keith was holding his breath. The hairdresser excused herself and Shiro took action. First, he lightly slapped Keith’s cheek, gaining his attention. Keith glared at him and Shiro gave a sympathetic smile. “Loosen up a bit. You look like you’re going to keel over.” 

“Am not.” Keith huffed. He stood up, crossing his arms. “I’m perfectly fine.” 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “If I had a quarter for every time you said that…”

“What’s a quarter?” 

“Nevermind.” Shiro straightened Keith’s tie, giving a small tug. “I’m just saying, don’t stress out. You and Lance get along well enough, and everyone here is nice. It’ll be a-okay.” 

Keith gave a snort, but forced himself to try and loosen up, even if it was just a bit. “Yeah yeah. Whatever you say Shiro. I know you’re just happy to be here because of Allura. You turn as red as Sendak’s armor every time she gets close.” 

Shiro gave him a light cuff over the head, trying not to knock out any of the carefully placed flowers. “If it wasn’t your wedding, there’s no way I’d let you get away with that. Consider yourself lucky.” 

 

Lance gulped, his hands sweaty and heart racing. This was it. All he had to do was walk through these door and up to the altar, then endure the lengthy sermon. It was now or never, do or die. Okay, maybe not die, but close enough. Lance felt like he _could_ die any moment. He wiped his hands off on his pants, jumping up and down on his feet to try and burn off his anxious energy. 

Coran hooked an arm around Lance’s, ready to to walk him down the aisle. Normally, one’s parents would take that honor, though that wasn’t really possible here. Coran was like a second father, or maybe an uncle, to Lance and Allura, so it was natural he would take over. “Come on lad, it’s not so bad!” He said quite cheerfully.

“Urgh.” Lance took a deep breath and stood up straight. He gave a nod, it was time. “I’m fine. Let’s go.” Coran gave a grin and pushed open the door, leading Lance along. 

The room was decorated beautifully, Hunk had really outdone himself. The chairs were perfectly aligned into rows, each with silver and gold ribbons weaved into their legs and back. There was a high silver arch above the altar, small leafy vines grew up it’s side and petals rained down from above. Lance’s eyes followed one of the petals down, watching it slowly drift along. It landed on Keith’s shoulder, drawing Lance’s attention to his Galra fiance. 

Lance took in a sharp breath, eyes widening slightly. Keith wore a dark suit with purple highlights. His hair was pulled back from his face with small purple flowers weaved into it. Keith’s eyes slowly opened, meeting Lance’s for a split second before dropping to his feet. 

Coran nudged Lance forward. He himself stopped at the last row of seats, unhooking his arm from Lance’s and gesturing for him to go forward. Once again, that nervous feeling stuck itself in his gut. He gulped, stepping up the stairs and coming to a stop in front of Keith.

Keith finally looked up, still not quite catching Lance’s eyes but it was an improvement at the very least. The priest began speaking loudly, his words echoing through the room for all to hear. All but Lance that was. He couldn’t quite pay attention with the pounding in his head. This was happening. It was really happening. 

“Lance.” It was quiet, and Lance was certain the only reason he heard it at all was the recognition of his own name. He looked up, surprised to find Keith staring intensely at him. The Galra mouthed the words ‘Relax, you’re fine’. 

The priest droned on and on as Lance stared down Keith, a somewhat unconvinced look on his face. A few ticks passed and Keith stared on, not letting up one bit. Lance let out the breath he had been holding, slowly relaxing his shoulders and nodding. Maybe it was the intensity of Keith’s eyes, or perhaps just Lance, but he started to believe him. 

“You may say your vows.” The old priest said, gesturing for Keith to go first. 

Keith took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. A shiver ran down Lance’s spine. “Lance.” He started, his words slow and steady. “I, Keith Akira Daibazaal, take you to be my husband for all of an eternity. All that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you. By the divine presence’s will shall we remain faithful and binded together forever.” 

“Keith. I, Lance Charles Raimon, take you to be my husband for all of an eternity.” Lance’s voice wobbled at first, but grew stronger with each passing moment. “All that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you. By the divine presence’s will shall we remain faithful and binded together forever.” 

The priest gave a grunt of approval. “You may kiss the groom.” 

This time Lance had no hesitation. He met Keith halfway there, pressing his lips to the other’s and closing his eyes lightly. The crowd burst into their cheers as Lance slid his ring onto Keith’s finger. Before the other could return the move, the door burst open and an Altean soldier rushed in, panting and visibly shaken. 

“Who dares interrupt this important wedding!?” Allura roared, standing up and whipping around in all her fury. “What is the meaning of this!?” 

The poor soldier shook his head frantically. “We’re under attack!”

“What idiot would dare attack at a time like this?” Allura stormed over to the soldier, the air around her crackling. 

“I-it’s the Galra ma'am! They’ve broken the treaty!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahha, a new month and a new chapter! Here you go! 
> 
> (Bet you weren't expecting that little twist, heh)


	11. Chapter 11

“I-it’s the Galra ma'am! They’ve broken the treaty!”

It felt like time stopped in one moment. And just as soon as it froze, it started up again in full blast. The few Galra in the seats jumped up, immediately attacking the nearby Alteans and important members of other species. The guards fought back against them, struggling to apprehend the new sudden opponent. 

Keith stood frozen in place, eyes wide as he watched the attack. The castle shook and Keith fell to his knees, shock evident on his face. The guards made their way to him, pinning both him and Shiro down to the ground. Keith remained silent as Shiro struggled against his restraints, trying in a feeble attempt to escape. 

Lance caught Keith’s eyes as they dragged him away. All Keith could see was disgust and betrayal. _It hurt._ Lance rushed past, him and Allura heading in the same direction. “Lance, no.” She had said in a strict voice. “You can’t! We haven’t even assessed the situation!” 

“I don’t care.” That was the last thing Keith could hear before Lance disappeared from sight. Shiro tried to get his attention but Keith just blocked it all out. He felt numb. 

“What do you know about the attack?” The unknown Altean in front of him and Shiro asked, yet again. The two had been chained up and taken to be interrogated. 

“We don’t know anything about this. Please, unchain us. We can talk in a more civil manner.” Shiro spoke in a reasonable voice, tilting his head. 

“I want to hear it from him, not you. He’s the crown prince, there’s no way he didn’t know about this.” The Altean jabbed a finger into Keith’s chest. Keith didn’t even flinch. “Well?”

Keith finally snapped to attention as Allura entered the room. She had two men following her as she quickly gave out orders. The two nodded as she finished and rushed off. “Allura. What’s happening?” He asked, a tight frown on his face. 

“As if you don’t know. You-” The interrogator was cut off when Allura held up a hand. 

She knelt down in front of the two, her eyes flickering back and forth between Keith and Shiro. “So? Tell me, why should I believe you two? Give me a reason to trust you.” 

Shiro opened his mouth, but shut it a moment later, looking over to Keith. He trusted him. Keith would be able to convince the princess, he had no doubt. 

“Princess. We had no idea there was going to be an attack. I… I honestly believed that this was the end of it, that we’d finally have peace. My fa- King Zarkon lied to me just as much as he did to you.” 

“Those are just words. Anyone could say that. _Convince me._ ” Allura stared him down, and Keith had no trouble meeting her serious gaze.

“I never wanted this. I wanted peace. I wanted to believe so badly that we had found a compromise.” Keith’s hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. “I can’t believe he would have gone and done this. This... This sneaky, underhanded, disgusting plan.” He gave a low growl, the hair on the back of his neck prickling up as his anger kicked in and started to take over. “I want to help you stop him. I want to put him in his place!” 

The castle shook as he spoke these words, a loud roar resonating and amplifying his voice. “Him?” Allura looked up in surprise. “Are you sure?” She mumbled to herself. After a moment more she stood up and nodded to the interrogator. “Alright, unchain them.” She looked back to Keith, ignoring the other’s confused grunt. “I believe you.” 

Shiro gave a relieved sigh, rubbing at his wrists from where he was chained. Keith jumped to his feet as soon as he was free. “Allura, please let me help you. Give me a weapon, I can fight.”

“I’ll do you one better. How does a lion sound?” She gave a small chuckle at both Keith and Shiro’s expression, gesturing for them to follow her. 

 

“I know you said you trusted us, but doesn’t that seem a bit too much?” Shiro asked with a hint of skepticism. 

“Yes. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And I wasn’t my choice. It was her’s.” Allura opened the door to the hanger, allowing her two companions to see inside. Three massive lions towered above them, their presence large and choking. Keith took a step forward, gazing up at the lions. The red lion emitted a low growl, lowering it’s head down to Keith’s level. “The red lion has chosen you to be her new pilot Keith. It is a great honor, even if I don’t understand why she would pick you. It can take weeks, months, even years before a lion will pick a new pilot. You must really be special.” 

Keith tilted his head back, staring into the lion’s black gaze. Slowly, he lifted a hand up and pressed it lightly against her snout. The lion gave a purr, pleased that her new partner had found his way to her. “Hey girl.” Keith murmured quietly. “Ready to go kick Zarkon’s butt?” 

“Hold up a moment Keith. What you’re wearing isn’t too practical for fighting.” She tossed a red and white suit towards him, and he just barely caught it. “You should change into this. Your bayard is inside the lion.”

“Bayard?” Keith glanced at the suit, frowning at it’s complicated looking pads and chest gear. It’d be a pain to put on and figure out. 

“Yes. It’s your weapon. A paladin’s weapon can be very important. The bayard will change to match it’s user’s fighting style, so you won’t need to worry too much about figuring it out.” Allura sighed. “Listen, Keith. Lance is out there right now fighting. Promise me you’ll protect him. I didn’t want him to go, but he pilots the blue lion. I couldn’t stop him from leaving. If you see him, please. Make sure he’s okay.” 

Keith paused for a moment before nodding. “Of course. I promise.” He turned to go change, tugging off his tie as he ducked behind the red lion. 

“Thank you.” Allura mumbled quietly, watching him leave. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened? Why are three of the lions still here and not in battle?” Shiro frowned, brow creased in thought. “From what I heard, before Zarkon agreed to a treaty, we got hit by a strong blow from Voltron. Wouldn’t Voltron need all five paladins to form?”

“...Yes. You see, that attack took all we had. It was extremely risky, but it had paid off. At least we had thought.” She frowned, looking up at the lions. “The pilot of the black lion died during the attack, as did the red. The yellow paladin died of his wounds on the way home. Only myself and the green pilot survived. Lance was angry at me for taking such a risk, and with his lion too, but I couldn’t let him go. I couldn’t lose him too.” 

“Allura…” Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder, a look of sympathy on his face. “If it’s worth anything, I believe you made the right choice. You gave it your all, and I’m sure the paladins knew that going in.”

“....” Allura looked away, a saddened look on her face. “My plan led them to their deaths. I won’t make that mistake again, I swear.” 

Keith stepped back out, now adorning the red paladin armor, though it was on a bit crooked. “Alright. I’m ready. Allura, do you know where Zarkon is? I’m going straight for him.” Keith growled, twisting the piece around his forearm into place. 

“A bit hasty, though it seems Red agrees.” The red lion had already opened it’s mouth to allow Keith to get into the cockpit. She gave a sigh. “Very well. I’ll send a list of his possible coordinates to your lion. Please, stay safe. Don’t take any risks you don’t have to, and make sure you have backup when you find Zarkon.” 

“I will.” Keith had a determined look, his eyes flashing brightly. 

Allura knew she had made the right decision trusting Keith. She felt confident in him now. If the red lion believed in him, then so did she. “Good luck… Paladin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is when things get interesting ;)


	12. Chapter 12

Keith swerved in between rubbage and enemy attacks with an expert’s ease. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out the controls for the lion and before long he was ready to go. The first two locations had been a bust, Zarkon wasn’t there. Keith could only hope he found him soon, his lion didn’t have the best defense and had already taken a handful of heavy blows. 

At one point he had spotted the green lion. It was taking down a particularly large battleship with little help. Keith contemplated lending a hand, but just as he made up his mind the ship started to sink, an escape pod being launched from the back. Whoever had the green lion wouldn’t need his help. The blue lion on the other hand was much more elusive. Twice now Keith saw a flash and thought it was Lance, only to find an Altean fightership, or shrapnel from some nearby explosion. Lance was nowhere to be found, and all Keith could do was ignore his worry and continue to keep an eye out. 

The third ship Allura said might contain Zarkon was coming up fast. Keith flew his lion forward, urging her to pick up the pace. She obliged, happily scrapping her claws against the side in a warning. A handful of drones flew out, streaking through the sky after Keith. He took them out quickly, smashing them against the side of the ship for extra damage. An even larger group came after him and Keith knew he had found the place. The last two weren’t so quick to attack, which meant something or someone important must be inside. 

Keith looped back, sending a quick ping to gain Allura’s attention. She would hopefully direct reinforcements to the area. Still, Keith couldn’t help but hope she wouldn’t too fast. He enjoyed the rush of the fight and the thrill of knocking an enemy out of the sky. 

Charging forward yet again, Keith weaved in and out of the drones, letting out a cheerful cry when they crashed into each other. More and more enemies poured out of the ship, but a quick round of gunfire told Keith his help was here. Knowing he could leave the drones to them, he headed for the outside deck of the ship, landing on the top with a loud thud. He fumbled with the controls, but eventually found the right one to send out a message to the ship. Before he could open the channel however, the grand metal doors slid open, and there he was. 

Zarkon had a hard look on his face, eyes narrowed and lips in a tight frown. His cape billowed behind him as a nearby Altean ship caught fire, and his own weapon of choice glittering in the light. “Keith.” He spoke loudly and sounded much too calm. “Surely you aren’t siding with those filthy Alteans? Come out here and face your father.” His words, while slow and steady, held an air of cold anger. His question was more of a statement, and his request more of a demand. 

The red lion gave a low growl as Keith got up from his seat. She wanted him to end it right now, just swat him aside with her powerful paws. But Keith couldn’t do that. He was much too prideful. He needed to face his father in a fair fight, and he needed to win. 

He stepped down from his lion, drawing his bayard and stepping forward. He would have liked to examine the blade his weapon produced but had no time for that now. “Father.” The word felt like sandpaper being shoved down his throat. This man was no more his father than Keith was a Balmeran. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why am I doing this? Why are _you_ siding with _them_?” He spat out the words like they were venom, hatred flashing in his eyes. “My own flesh and bones, betraying me in cold blood. What a shame. Lotor would have never sided with something as weak and pitiful as the Alteans.”

“Well I’m not Lotor. I’m much more than him.” Keith brought up his sword in the ready position, taking a fighting stance. “You have no right to bash on the Alteans when you’d so easily lie to your son!” With that, Keith dashed forward, intending to strike Zarkon down. 

Zarkon gave a low chuckle, swinging up his own blade to catch Keith’s last moment. He shoved his son away, sidestepping Keith’s quick counterattack with ease. “And to think, I once thought you might actually be adequate to lead in my place. How foolish I was.”

“You always intended to give the throne to Lotor. I’m just your leftovers!” Keith gave a roar of fury, lunging forward once again. Zarkon whipped his weapon around, neatly slicing open Keith’s cheek. Keith let out a small hiss at the sudden sharp pain but didn’t falter in his assault. He gave a hard kick to Zarkon’s leg, finally managing to get him to stumble. It wasn’t much, but it gave him hope. 

“You ungrateful snot!” Zarkon squealed, slamming his body into Keith and sending him to the floor. Keith instantly rolled to the side, cringing at the sound of metal slamming into metal. Zarkon’s blade was shoved into the ground right where he had been just moments ago. Keith jumped to his feet as Zarkon ripped his weapon free, swinging it to the side and nicking Keith’s arm. 

Keith could already feel himself growing tired. Even with Allura’s backup to keep the drones off his back, he was exerting too much energy avoiding Zarkon’s attacks. With a frustrated snort, he swung his blade around, smashing it into Zarkon’s. He used the momentum to bring it around yet again, finally landing a successful hit right into Zarkon’s chest. His victory was short lived however, as his sword only bounced off of the heavy and thick armor. 

“I think that’s enough. I’m done playing with you.” Zarkon cooed, stepping into Keith’s balance and sending him flailing to the side. “You know, you remind me of your mother more and more each day. She was just as feisty as you, if not more.”

“M-my mother?” Keith’s surprise led him to make another mistake. He had let his guard down just enough for Zarkon to bash him on the head with his free arm. Keith flew to the ground, once again rolling back up quickly, even if his head was spinning a bit. He caught Zarkon’s blade with his own, only just managing to stop an attack that would have otherwise taken off his head. 

“Yes.” Zarkon hissed. “Perhaps it really is no surprise you sided with the Alteans. After all, she was one herself.”

“What!?” Keith yelped, shock filtering onto his features. “No, you’re lying! You have to be!” He swung at Zarkon, but his move was hesitant and easily deflected. 

“She begged me not to start up a war with her people. She refused to listen to me. She didn’t believe in my ability to rule!” Zarkon practically roared, striking down at Keith. Each hit was stronger than the last, fueled by the King’s anger. “She even went so far as to help them, just like you. She snuck the Alteans my plans, betraying me and my people! She’s a traitor, and now so are you!” 

Keith could only gasp, eyes widening at this sudden information. This was why she was never talked about, this is why his father always held a look of distrust for him. It all clicked. Keith was frozen in place, unable to move as Zarkon advanced. 

“You do know what we do with traitors, don’t you?” Zarkon took a menacing step forward, smacking Keith to the ground with ease. “We kill them.” He hissed. “Say hello to your mother for me.” And with that King Zarkon brought down his blade, ready to strike the final blow. 

“Not so fast!” Zarkon stumbled to the side as a burst of bullets hit him in the back, just barely missing Keith. Lance rushed forward, keeping his gun pointed carefully at Zarkon’s head. “It’s the end of the line for you buddy. I’m not willing to forgive you, not anymore.” He stole a glance at Keith, his expression not giving up anything. “Get up already will ya? I could use your help here.” 

Keith stared at the blue adorned paladin in front of him, wondering just how many twists the day had in store for him. Lance looked a bit more ragged than he had since last time Keith had seen him, but not nearly as rough as Keith himself. Taking a deep breath, Keith nodded and pulled himself to his feet, readjusting his grip on his sword. 

“Any last words Zarkon?” Lance huffed, his finger twitching on the trigger. 

“That’s what I should be asking you, boy!” Zarkon gave a loud laugh. Lance cried out as he received a strong blow to the back by a Galra soldier. Keith jumped, suddenly aware that they were surrounded by roughly twenty soldiers. How they had managed to sneak up so quickly was beyond Keith, but hardly mattered now. 

Lance allowed the movement of his fall to take him over to Keith, just barely managing to keep from tripping. “Back to back.” He ordered, nodding to his fellow paladin. “Try to hold out as long as you can.” 

“Right.” Keith seemed to find his voice, readying himself to fight. He was tired and hurt, but that didn’t matter. He had a goal, and he wouldn’t stop until it was realized. The soldiers swarmed even closer, and Lance whispered quickly into his helmet’s headpiece. 

On the silent count of three, both Lance and Keith struck. Keith swung his weapon in a wide arch while Lance opened fire, each trying to deal as much damage as they could. They did the best they could, but it was two to twenty and each hit they landed was returned with twice the power. Not to mention, their fighting styles clashed in a way that wasn’t meant for back to back combat.

Keith heard a grunt and whipped his head around to see Lance get smacked down to the cold metal floor. He immediately struck down the soldier who had dealt the blow, stopping him from getting another hit on Lance. A sudden pain in his side alerted him to the fact that the Galra had brought out their own guns, and Keith could only ignore the hopelessness of the situation. 

“Give up.” Zarkon barked, standing off to the side. “You’re outnumbered. There’s no way for you to win.” Keith swung his head around, desperately searching for a way out as Lance struggled back onto his feet. There was nothing. The backup Allura had sent was still plenty busy with the drones and enemy fighter jets. They wouldn’t be able to come to their aid. The Galran soldiers had formed a tight circle around them, making sure they wouldn’t be able to slip through. Keith gave a growl of frustration, unable to do much of anything. Zarkon was right, they really couldn’t win. 

Lance had gotten back onto his feet, his usual confident smirk now gone and replaced with a grimace. He seemed to realize the same thing Keith did. Straightening up, he gave a grim laugh. “You know, this really is a bad situation.” Zarkon shifted forward slightly, ready for the Altean prince to admit defeat. “For the Galras that is.”

The sudden unease that rippled through the soldiers was plain enough to see. They only had a few moments to feel that way though, because soon enough the blue lion sprung forward from where it had been lying in wait. It shot out an icy roar, freezing a good handful of the soldiers in place. Lance gave a victorious cry, throwing a fist up in the air. “Yeah! Nice one!” He cheered. 

The blue lion made quick work of the soldiers on board, Lance urging her forwards. Keith wasted no time. He took the moment of chaos to slip away from the now broken circle and charge towards Zarkon, sword at the ready and rage in his eyes. 

Zarkon tried stepping back but it was too late. With a roar that could almost rival his lion’s, Keith plunged his sword deep into his chest, sheer willpower alone forcing it through the protective gear covering him. 

Zarkon’s legs buckled beneath him and he fell to his knees, blood welling up from the wound. “Y-you traitorous filth…” He gasped out, his body slowly failing him. “You’re no son of mine.”  
“You’re right. I’m not.” Keith pulled free his blade, watching the life drain out of his denounced father’s body as he crumpled to the ground. The normally sweet taste of victory was sour in his mouth. No sane person would take joy in having to kill their own family, despite how necessary it was. Keith’s blade disappeared back into his bayard and he dropped it to the ground, a heavy feeling in his heart. 

“You did it!” A loud screech had him turn around. Lance was running towards him, an unbelieving look on his face as the blue lion took care of the last few remaining soldiers. He reached Keith and swooped him up into a tight hug, swinging him around with a surprising burst of strength. “You really did it! You beat him!” He cheered, a splitting grin plastered onto his face. 

Despite the melancholy he had felt, Keith couldn’t help but smile, Lance’s joy was pretty contagious. Lance set him down, tugging off his own helmet and tossing it to the side. Keith followed suit, allowing a small sad smile onto his face. “I did, didn’t I?” He murmured, his victory finally catching up to him. 

“You did.” Lance caught his eyes, an overjoyed sparkle in his own. “You really did.” Without warning, Lance gave a sob, stumbling forward and pressing his face into Keith’s shoulder. “Y-you really really did it.” He cried, grin still stuck to his face. 

Keith rubbed at the other’s back, a sense of understanding coming over him. The war had started when both of them were little. Lance must have been no older than ten when his father died. His entire life had been plagued by war, but now it was over. It was finally over and they could have peace. 

The two stood there for who knows how long, watching the dust settle around them. It hadn’t taken long for news to spread across the battlefield that King Zarkon was dead and the Galra had lost. Allura, Coran, and Shiro had come to get them, both Alteans just as emotional as Lance. Shiro had a peaceful look on his face, bundling Keith up into a hug and ushering him aboard the ship that would take them to the castle. Take them home. 

On the way, Keith pulled Lance aside, hoping to get a moment alone with him. Lance gave a questioning look, but went along with it, telling Allura he’d be right back. Keith dragged him to a back area, shielded from the rest of the ship by a thin wall. He dug around in his suit, searching for something rather important. Finding it, he clutched it in his closed fist, holding it up in front of Lance. 

“What is it?” Lance asked, confusion flickering onto his face. 

“Give me your hand for a second.” Lance did as he asked, and Keith took his hand with a light grip. “I never got the chance to do this back at the castle.” He opened his free hand, showing Lance a gold ring. Keith had kept hold of it throughout the entire battle. Keith could hear Lance take a sharp intake of breath as he slipped the ring onto his finger, finally looking up to meet his eyes. 

Lance stared for a moment longer, and Keith started to worry that he did the wrong thing. That worry was quickly washed away when Lance leaned forward and pulled him into a kiss. Keith could feel the smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders. Shiro was right, things would be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Commercial voice* But wait, there's more!


	13. Epilogue

Keith frowned, tapping his pen against the edge of his wooden desk. Stacks of paper surrounded him, only a small portion filled out. He’d been working for days now, slowly whittling away at the pile, but it was quite tedious and even more boring. 

Not only was Keith Zarkon’s only remaining son, but he was the one to take him out. By Galran rule, he was declared the new king. Keith had immediately gotten to work, freeing planets from his newfound reign and trying to sew together old broken alliances. It was hard, and half the time he didn’t know what he was doing. Allura was helping out the best she could, but for the most part the big decisions were up to Keith. 

The hardest part was taking down his father’s dedicated supporters, a process that never seemed to end. To top it all off, most species were wary of the Galra, new leader or not. Keith couldn’t blame them, the old king had done some awful things, but it was still frustrating. He was certain the only reason they hadn’t completely blown him off was his heavy connection with the Alteans. 

Giving a sigh, Keith rotated his sore wrist, setting aside the file he had just finished writing up and sorting then grabbed a new one. “Hey, why don’t you take a break already?” Came Lance’s voice as the Altean prince entered the room. In Keith’s eyes, Lance was lucky. While technically, he should be a Galran king due to his marriage with Keith, Altean law was keeping him as a prince. Which also meant keeping him from helping with the work that could only be signed off on by a king. (Though Keith had a feeling that even if Lance could do it, he probably would keep the majority of the paperwork for himself.) 

“Can’t. I’ve almost finished the work for this solar system to give it back to it’s people. And after that I need to fill out a treaty with Olkari. Plus there’s still about forty seven prisoner camps I need to dismantle. And then-” 

Keith was cut off as Lance rested his chin on his shoulder, reaching over and knocking his pen out of his hand. “And how are you gonna do that with a frazzled brain? You’re all tense, relax a bit.” 

Keith rolled his eyes, trying to nudge Lance off. His chin was pretty pointy and it was kinda hurting his, admittedly tensed up, shoulders. “There’s still a lot that needs to be done. There’s no time to relax.”

Lance shook his head, standing back up and grabbing onto Keith’s arm. “C’mon you oaf.” He said with a laugh, pulling Keith out of his chair. “Give yourself ten minutes at least. I think that’s fair enough.” Keith gave a huff but didn’t resist. He allowed Lance to pull him over to their now shared bed. 

Keith sat down on the edge and Lance wasted no time crawling into his lap. He wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders, nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck. Keith stiffened for a moment but forced himself to at least try and relax. He still wasn’t quite used to such close contact, and Lance was a pretty affectionate person. He was getting better though. (The first time Lance had tried to hug him from behind Keith had given him a black eye from his flailing. So there was definitely some sort of improvement there.) 

“You know, Coran has been doing some digging around.” Lance mumbled after a moment. Keith raised an eyebrow, waiting for the other to continue. “He did some research and found out that mullets aren’t exactly King material.” The flick to his ear told Lance that he probably shouldn’t continue that train of thought. With a small chuckle, he shook his head. “Just kidding. He’s actually been looking through the files to see if he can find anything about your mother.” 

“...My mother?” Keith’s breath caught in his throat. “Did he find anything?”

“Not yet, we had a surprisingly large amount of people slipping us information. But he’s narrowed it down a lot. He said he’ll hopefully have some sort of lead by the end of the week.”

“I see.” Keith mulled this over in his head. Did he even want to know who his mother was? Or would it just open up another possibility for heartbreak? Then again, Zarkon had said he was just like his mom. Even if that was just a lie, he knew she had fought back against the corrupt king. That she could be a hero. Keith looked down at the boy in his arms and gave a small smile. Even if things didn’t turn out, he’d be alright. He had a new family now, one he knew would help him figure things out. Giving Lance a small squeeze, Keith nodded. “If you see him before me, tell him I say thanks.” 

“Mhm!” Lance snuck a small kiss to Keith’s jaw, looking up at him with a smile. “Will do. Now, are you gonna cuddle me or what?” Keith rolled his eyes, but went along with the other anyways.

Half an hour later, when he finally got back to his work, he had to admit Lance was right. He wasn’t feeling nearly as tense as before. Though the paperwork was still a drag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for bearing with me. Your comments helped push me to finish this and man, does it feel good to publish the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed!! Thank you all so much!


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